According to the International Diabetes Federation, the number of people suffering from diabetes around the world has risen from 30 million to an astounding 230 million in the last 2 decades with 7 of the 10 countries with the highest number of diabetics being in the developing world.

There are many factors driving the growth in diabetes worldwide, but most experts agree that changes in lifestyle and diet are the chief culprits, in addition to genetic predisposition. As developing countries rapidly industrialize, people tend to do work involving less physical activity. At the same time, the availability of food that is cheap but high in calories becomes more common.

The combination causes weight gain, which leads to greater risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.

-Via New York Times

The best way to counter this rapidly spreading disease, (especially the Type 2 - or adult onset - variety) is to spread the word about healthful eating habits in your circle of influence. Together, we can all help reduce the occurence of diabetes.

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, nutrition, diabetes

Related Posts:

• World Diabetes Day: An urgent wake-up call
• World Diabetes Day: Diabetes In Children And Adolescents
• Diabetes could age your heart by 15 years

Walk down the bread aisle in your local grocery and you are likely to be confronted by a plethora of nutrition labels with “High Fiber”, “Low Carb” and “Eat this or else …!” printed boldly on them.

The important thing to remember about any whole wheat product is this: since manufacturers are required to list ingredients in order of their quantity (weight) in the finished product, a whole wheat product will always have one of the following listed as the first ingredient: “whole grain”, “100% whole wheat”, “100% stone ground whole wheat” or something very similar.

If you see something like “unbleached wheat flour” or “unbromated wheat flour”, beware since these are just clever ways of saying “Foolish consumer, I have stripped the whole grain of all its goodness and made it highly refined”.

As for fiber, a good measure is that each slice should have atleast 2g of it. Also make sure the dough is not doused in High-Fructose Corn Syrup (you do know why it is harmful, don’t you?) before it’s baked.

The FitMan household uses Arnold Double Fiber 100% Whole Wheat Bread from their Whole Grain Classics Series.

Each slice has:

1. 90 calories with only 1.5 g of fat (no saturated or trans fats)
2. 4g of protein
3. Best of all: 5g of fiber! This means a 2-slice sandwich will make up 40% of your daily fiber needs!

This brand is easy to find in most large stores and tastes great with peanut butter! That’s a solid carb-protein-fiber combination that’s hard to beat!

Did you get your fill of whole grains today?

Technorati Tags: health, fitness, whole grain, whole wheat bread

Related Posts:

• How To Choose Bread For Your Family
• Break that fast
• QT#12: Know where you are getting your daily requirement of fat from